Comic book characters promote Webtoon (a digital comics platform) in the Gaslamp during 2015 San Diego Comic-Con.
Yeah. San Diego Comic-Con has changed. What years ago was a small convention for dedicated comic book lovers has turned into a big insane Hollywood hype machine. Diehard fans and awestruck consumers geek out over every conceivable new entertainment, and promoters try to get Comic-Con goers to post photos on social media under a hundred different hashtags. It’s all about hyping an upcoming movie, a television show, a video game, a celebrity, a brand. It’s more than a bit ridiculous. It’s silly. It’s loud. It’s often superficial. And, if you don’t mind massive crowds, it can be exciting, wonderful, eye-opening and lots of fun!
So here’s one last blog post concerning huge glorious 2015 Comic-Con.
These photos mostly show riotous doings in downtown San Diego outside of the convention center. And all this fantastic contrived drama is concluded with a bit of actual nail-biting reality. Oh, my!
A huge crowd of Comic-Con enthusiasts has assembled at the entrance to San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.Comic-Con goers lined up to experience rampaging zombies at Walking Dead offsite venue at Hilton Gaslamp.Cosplay ninja takes a flying plunge from the top of the clock tower at Assassin’s Creed obstacle course.Syfy guerrilla marketing promotion of Childhood’s End uses a mob of people holding signs to beware Karellen!Hired street actors perform creepy chants to promote upcoming television series Damien. The Beast Rises! And so does the hype!Red-bereted soldiers from Colony television show march in file up Fifth Avenue through San Diego’s Gaslamp.The Colony troop files past shark head-wearing Sharknado 3 girls and an Outlander bagpiper! It’s complete mayhem.Uncle Sams on stilts with sharks through their chests add to the absurdity of the already ridiculous scene.Deliciously insane. You have to be here to believe it.I asked this lady about her cosplay. She said it was nothing in particular.A cool Dragon Ball Z poster in window of a Gaslamp eatery.Numerous zany Colonel Sanders sculptures placed about San Diego transmitted free Wi-Fi for Comic-Con visitors. KFC seems to have adopted an attention-getting marketing strategy.Cool Star Wars cosplay. A couple of scout troopers in the crowd.Guys in kilts, bagpipes, rowdy damsels, all promoting Outlander.Another photo of the crowd near Webtoon and Heroes Reborn.I believe the face-painted cosplay that looks kind of like the rock band Kiss is a character from Korean comics.There’s so much crazy fun going on my head was on a rapid swivel.Colorful fun over at the LEGO Homer Simpson near entrance to the Hard Rock Hotel.One can ride pedicabs with various Muppet characters!Long lines were all over the place, especially near Petco Park. These people want to Experience the Realm.Another cheerful Poison Ivy. Hi!These brave people who are lined up near Petco Park’s scary The Walking Dead Escape will experience zombies in virtual reality!Looking through Petco Park stadium fence at part of The Walking Dead Escape layout.Guy places a dummy corpse by a bloody, crashed car.Lots of lines, food, games and cosplay at the Comic-Con Interactive Zone in the Lexus Lot next to Petco Park.Kids check out video games at the Alienware exhibit in the Interactive Zone.Family sports Charlie Brown baseball caps after visiting the nearby Peanuts Movie fun site.Hanging out looking at a long video screen behind the San Diego Convention Center. The FX Fearless Arena Experience was super popular during 2015 Comic-Con.Someone prepares to fly a drone above the crowd to take video of the stupendous international event.People everywhere. Just a lot of fun. I enjoyed a hamburger, but continued to scour the place for freebies to eat.It’s Homer Simpson at the Kwik-E-Mart!Fargo fans stand in a glitter-filled huge snow globe for a photograph!People scream right on cue at the Scream Queens drop amusement ride.Hundreds of thousands jam downtown San Diego for 2015 Comic-Con. It’s just plain nuts.Indeed, it appears there’s No Escape!Folks dining at a Gaslamp restaurant have front row seats to the drama.Free rides, courtesy of Another Period, The Original Ballers.But wait! All the fabricated hype and escapist fantasy is rudely interrupted by real sirens and flashing red lights!A kitchen grease fire broke out in a restaurant during Comic-Con on Saturday. The fire was on the 900 block of Fourth Avenue. Reality intervenes!Firefighters, dealing with a potentially serious crisis, provide unexpected nail-biting entertainment for one and all.
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Comic-Con is nearly over, but there’s much to see and do in San Diego. Enjoy future posts! Join me on Facebook or Twitter.
Stunning white face stares from Petco Park across Harbor Drive. Nobody attending 2015 San Diego Comic-Con could possibly miss this advertisement!
Now just a bit over two days to go until 2015 San Diego Comic-Con officially opens!
I walked early and late yesterday around the convention center and Gaslamp. Workers were busy all over the place getting stuff ready.
For your enjoyment, I present another batch of photos showing all sorts of cool sights!
Once Upon a Time building wrap on Petco Park. Evil isn’t born. It’s made.A local television reporter stands near entrance to the Gaslamp, previewing 2015 Comic-Con on camera for the evening news.Is that legendary cartoonist and animator Chuck Jones? No. But it’s his namesake gallery on Fifth Avenue, open and ready for fans of classic pop culture and cool art.Analog in the Gaslamp Quarter has a 20 percent discount on food for Comic-Con attendees with badge.More Analog fun . . . Cosplay Super Karaoke! I didn’t know Han, Luke and Leia had formed a musical trio.Half of a large wrap applied to Hard Rock Hotel building. Resembles the Ascension graphics from last year.Other half of the cosmic, purple wrap. I see an asteroid field and spaceship.I see Lego Dimensions characters Superman, Batman and Gandalf in this graphic on the Hard Rock Hotel.More Lego Dimensions images on the south side of the Hard Rock Hotel. You’re gonna need a bigger imagination.The wrap on the west wall of Petco Park is finished. It promotes Vikings on the History Channel. May the Norse be with you!The Ubisoft Assassin’s Creed obstacle course is half-completed. The configuration appears slightly different from last year.Looks realistic. Or is it real, and those workers have super strength?Hannibal. Savor the Hunt. Creepy banners hung at the Gaslamp trolley station.The complex and interesting Heroes Reborn venue was being erected throughout the day Monday.As evening approached, guys were attaching some kind of black canopy to the steel structure.Banners at Gaslamp trolley station promote Heroes Reborn, on NBC.For 2015 the Tin Fish restaurant is decked out with NBC Blindspot graphics.Behind the San Diego Convention Center, workers prepare a scary looking building, part of the FX Fearless Arena Experience.A second, larger building is also rising, across the grass at Hilton Bayfront Park.The Strain building wrap on the Hilton is nearing completion, a couple days before Comic-Con begins.Another long structure is being set up nearby, and it appears there are many prop trees that go with it.These smiling folks were heading along the bay walkway with a sign containing Comic-Con shuttle information.Lastly, Adult Swim is hosting a huge play area behind the convention center.Here’s a bunch of colorful stuff that must be unpacked and set up before 2015 San Diego Comic-Con begins on Thursday.Looks like a life-size version of Rick and Morty’s flying saucer!
Distinctive San Diego Comic-Con International logo is hung on convention center for the 2015 pop culture mega-event.
Wow! This morning I saw that preparation for Comic-Con has pushed into high gear! 2015 San Diego Comic-Con comes very shortly after the Fourth of July, so as soon as the fireworks ended, workers have come out in droves to erect outdoor venues and complete a large number of impressive building wraps. There still isn’t much to see in the Gaslamp, where restaurants, bars and shops have been concentrating on drawing Independence Day crowds. I guess in the next day or two that will rapidly change!
Everywhere around the San Diego Convention Center there’s activity. Tents are being set up to shelter Comic-Con attendees who will wait in long lines.Party rental workers hustle to get everything ready for 2015 San Diego Comic-Con, shortly after the Fourth of July.The Last Ship building wrap on the Marriott hotel is finally finished several days before Comic-Con opens.Ubisoft is returning this year with the popular Assassin’s Creed obstacle course. It’s under construction at the same spot as last year.Conan O’Brien building wrap is visible beyond crane erecting framework of Assassin’s Creed obstacle course.According to what I read, Gaslamp Square in front of the Tin Fish restaurant will be the scene of NBC’s Heroes Reborn, where visitors will discover their own pyro-kinetic ability!Guys build steel structure near entrance to the Gaslamp Quarter, the hub of Comic-Con activity.NBC’s Heroes Reborn elaborate venue for Comic-Con fans is under construction on July 5.The huge The Strain building wrap on the Hilton Bayfront is making great progress since I posted a photo two days ago.FX Fearless Arena is being built in the Hilton Bayfront Park. Attractions will include The Strain, American Horror Story: Hotel, The Simpsons, Fargo, and The Bastard Executioner.There’s going to be more cool stuff than ever at 2015 San Diego Comic-Con!Another section of the FX Fearless Arena under construction, with a big Minority Report banner in the background.Close up photo of Minority Report image on the Hilton parking garage.Once Upon a Time returns this year. A huge wrap is being applied on a high section of Petco Park even now as I type!It appears Petco Park will be the site of Galactic Army Boot Camp!Who will be in booth 437? Answer that, and we’ll know what this wrap is advertising on the west wall of Petco Park, beside Tony Gwynn Drive.And, finally, I love this huge wrap on Petco Park, facing the convention center. It’s The Muppets! Yeah!
A huge new San Diego Comic-Con building wrap going up on the Hilton Bayfront today is a bit of a mystery.
Less than six days to go until 2015 San Diego Comic-Con kicks off!
I walked all around downtown today, looking for signs of preparation. Nothing much has popped up in the Gaslamp yet, but a brand new huge building wrap is now being installed on the Hilton Bayfront near the San Diego Convention Center. After talking to some people, I’ve concluded the wrap will promote The Strain on FX. This would make sense, as the large grassy area in front of the Hilton will be the site of FX’s cool-sounding Fearless Arena Experience.
Stay tuned for more pics of Comic-Con stuff!
Baristas at hotel’s Starbucks and a tourist info guy in the Hilton seem to think this graphic will promote The Strain on FX.Several Game of Thrones banners were hung on trolley track fences near the Gaslamp a few days ago.Game of Thrones banners on trolley electrical poles along Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade in San Diego.The huge Conan Live from Comic-Con wrap on the Marriott Marquis is nearly finished.Swirl Girl has amazing rainbow powers of sweetness, it seems. She appears on the door of Sweet Things Frozen Yogurt.San Diego Symphony ticket booth at Embarcadero Marina Park South advertises the upcoming Pokeman and Star Trek movie Summer Pops concerts.The American Comedy Co. in the Gaslamp has a funny lineup set for Comic-Con, including Jay and Silent Bob.Crown Books in Horton Plaza is where you can buy Chewbacca at a nice discount!
Superman has been spotted walking through the Gaslamp two weeks before San Diego Comic-Con!
Two weeks to go until 2015 San Diego Comic-Con! Signs and omens of the super popular event’s coming are popping up around downtown, especially in the Gaslamp Quarter. Here’s what I spotted in the past couple days…
MTS has Comic-Con trolley passes that can be purchased with your smartphone.Game of Thrones advertisement at a trolley station. A Conan Live at Comic-Con trolley wrap passes by.The latest Comic-Con trolley wrap promotes soon to debut The Muppets television series on ABC!Kermit drives a trolley full of Muppet fun. Naked frogs. Egotistical pigs. Welcome to Hollywood.Miss Piggy gets her own personal section, because she’s such a big star.Who attending Comic-Con wouldn’t love to have Kermit driving them on the San Diego trolley?Shops in downtown San Diego have stocked up on superhero gear for coming throngs of pop culture fans and cosplayers.Shirt in store window features Darth Vader saying: “Soy tu padre, mijo.”Here come Batman, Thor, Wonder Woman and other powerful heroes. Villains in San Diego, beware!Trust me. I’m a superhero. The San Diego Trading Company on Fifth Avenue will have lots of Comic-Con deals, so swing on by! The lady at the counter is really nice!Comic-Con Weekend at the Onyx Room is an unofficial party many will attend!The House of Blues asks whether you’re ready to rock. San Diego will be rocking big time in a couple weeks! I can’t wait!The Hulk is busting loose! He’s coming to San Diego!
Ant-Man banners in downtown San Diego decorate street lamps for 2015 Comic-Con. According to a nearby sign, the tiny Marvel superhero better not park here!
I just got home from a short walk after work through downtown San Diego. I wandered down Broadway and a bit through the Gaslamp. I noticed a bunch of new street lamp banners are up for 2015 Comic-Con. They all promoted the upcoming Marvel Ant-Man movie!
I’ve also included a couple bonus pics, just for fun!
While I walked around, I spotted this cool guitarist making music by the door of the Hard Rock Cafe.A bar called Analog in the Gaslamp had a huge (non-digital) Rubik’s Cube out on the sidewalk! The security guard said it’s there just for fun!Large Marvel Ant-Man movie banners flutter in the breeze down the center of Broadway.
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2015 San Diego Comic-Con is less than a month away! As everyone gets ready, it’s time to remember some of the crazy fun stuff we experienced in 2014. Here’s a collection of blogs which contain numerous photos from SDCC last year.
Because I live in downtown San Diego, I’ll attempt to photograph a whole bunch of cool sights and Comic-Con craziness again this year, including trolley wraps, building wraps, special events, exhibits, cosplay and miscellaneous stuff around the Gaslamp! Stay tuned!
Rolling Stones Zip Code tour banners hang outside the Hard Rock Hotel, a couple blocks from Petco Park.
The Rolling Stones are ready to begin their highly-anticipated new Zip Code tour. And it kicks off this weekend right here in San Diego!
Walking about downtown’s Gaslamp Quarter this morning, I saw that Rolling Stones banners have been hung on many street lamps. Very cool! The classic rock band’s new tour will take them to a handful of select cities in North America, and possibly South America.
The last huge concert to fill Petco Park was Sir Paul McCartney on tour last September.
Rolling Stones graphic includes a baseball-like tongue! Also visible in this photo is San Diego’s landmark Gaslamp Quarter sign.
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Putting up big Mardi Gras arches along Fifth Avenue in San Diego’s Gaslamp.
I won’t be going to Mardi Gras in downtown San Diego this evening. I suppose I’m a boring old party pooper. But I did walk through the Gaslamp Quarter this morning while preparations were underway. Check out a few photos!
Mardi Gras poster features Snoopadelic (Snoop Dogg).Workers set up and test electronic video displays for the evening festivities.Three old firetrucks were decorated with Mardi Gras masks and ornaments.These firetrucks are ready for a big, happy carnival in the Gaslamp Quarter.And this cool guy told me he’s also ready for Mardi Gras!This fun pedicab is covered with Fat Tuesday ads and flashing lights.A table brimming with glittery colorful masks and beads.Guy getting banner ready for thousands of downtown revelers.Looking up Fifth Avenue, where people will celebrate Mardi Gras in San Diego.
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Blacksmith at Fall Back Festival in San Diego’s Gaslamp works the bellows.
Today I checked out a great event in downtown San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter. Called the Fall Back Festival: the Children’s Historical and Cultural Street Faire, this historical reenactment places visitors in a magical time machine, transporting them back to the 1880’s.
Three blocks of fun included a blacksmith, old western storefronts, pony rides, candle dipping and other educational activities. Many participants wore costumes and clothing from this early period in San Diego’s history. There was also an exciting High Noon shootout–which I unfortunately missed. But I did capture a few pics…
Lady in old-fashioned dress walks with her umbrella past Horton Grand Hotel.
I snapped the above photo as I headed toward the festival. The lady was just walking along through modern, shiny downtown San Diego like an image from the past.
These cowboys, the Alpine Outlaws, have a jailhouse downtown and a hanging noose!
Yikes! The first thing I saw was a bunch of crafty outlaws!
Festival celebrates the diverse and fascinating early history of San Diego.Wood cabinet at rear of wagon is packed with wares typical in 1880’s.A table full of rusty irons from the Old West!Temecula Valley Prospectors had kids panning for real gold.Realistic replicas of Native American tools and weapons were on display.
An interesting guy named Dave, of San Diego Survival History and Fitness, showed me a very cool display. He made all of the above implements and weapons by hand, using materials and techniques that were used by the Kumeyaay and earlier native peoples in the San Diego area. The Spaniards who built their first California Mission in San Diego feared the throwing sticks which you can see in the above photo. Shaped like a boomerang, they had the power to easily bring down a deer!
Historical exhibit has photos of Japanese settlers and community in San Diego.San Diego Model A Club had a row of old automobiles at the Fall Back Festival.Of course, there was live country western music for the crowd to enjoy!
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